Lake Estancia was a
prehistoric body of water in the
Estancia Valley, in the center of the U.S. state of
New Mexico. Mostly fed by creek and
groundwater from the
Manzano Mountains, the lake had diverse fauna, including
cutthroat trout. It appears to have formed when a river system broke up. It reached a maximum water level (highstand) presumably during the
Illinoian glaciation and subsequently fluctuated between a desiccated basin and fuller stages. Wind-driven erosion has excavated depressions in the former lakebed that are in part filled with
playas (dry lake beds). The lake was one of several
pluvial lakes in southwestern North America that developed during the late
Pleistocene. Their formation has been variously attributed to decreased temperatures during the
ice age and increased precipitation; a shutdown of the
thermohaline circulation and the
Laurentide Ice Sheet altered atmospheric circulation patterns and increased precipitation in the region. The lake has yielded a good
paleoclimatic record. This map shows the shoreline of Lake Estancia at three different periods: early Estancia (1,939 m / 6,362 ft above sea level), late Estancia (1,897 m / 6,224 ft), and "Lake Willard" (1,870 m / 6,135 ft). Present-day populated places, county boundaries and roads are overlaid on the map for identification.
Map credit: Tom Fish
Lourie Pieterse
